The creation of database applications often uses components that are common to other database applications, such as tables, queries, forms, reports, logic, and relationships. In some cases, these components are shared without modification, while in other cases these components may differ slightly between different database applications. In many cases, the modifications applied to a database application component for its use in one database application will transform the component into a form useful to other database applications. Each time the modified component is to be included within a different database application, the same set of changes must be reapplied. This leads to multiple opportunities for the introduction of typographical errors, omissions, or other mistakes in the creation of the database application.
Once a database application has been created, updating the related database application components presents several situations in which errors may be introduced. For example, after a database application component is included within multiple database applications, the component may later need to be modified to correct for errors and thus each database that includes the component must be modified. In addition to needing to correct errors in database application components, database application components are often updated or improved. To preserve a consistent user experience, the user interfaces and functionality of database application components should remain consistent through each database application. To maintain this consistency, each database application and its application components would have to be individually updated.